Book Review 1: The Women of Christmas (. . . and Anna)

A few days ago, I took the Jon Acuff Empty Shelf Challenge. I made a commitment to not only read more books in the next 365 days, but to finish some books that I've started then put down because I found them too challenging to deal with or too difficult to focus on at the time. Since I had just started the The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs, I decided that it would be the first book I would complete and place on the empty shelf.

I have never read any of Liz Curtis Higgs other books and probably wouldn't have picked up this book had I not seen her in an online Christmas video with Ann Voskamp (author of 1000 Gifts). As Ann read an exerpt from Liz's book about the young Mary, it gripped my heart, I knew this was a book I would have to read. So, when I was walking through Mardel a few days later Christmas shopping for others, and I spotted the book just under a "special price" sign, I was adament. I picked up the copy of The Women of Christmas and told my husband that I just had to have it. Not only did I purchase it, but I also wrapped it for myself. Since we opened our Christmas presents on the 21st, I was confident I would make the time to read it before Christmas Day. I started reading it the evening of the 23rd and finished it on Christmas Eve.

The book shares the stories of Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna. While Liz does a beautiful job describing Elizabeth's role and Mary's role in the Christmas story, it was actually the story of Anna that compelled me to continue reading the text with vigor. I mean, I have heard the story of Elizabeth and Mary so often; I know where they fit into the greatest Story ever told, but who is this Anna? And what is her role? Her story, Liz's allurement to Anna's story, is riveting. Anna, a woman who is mentioned for only a few short passages in the Word of God, yet her story is so incredibly inspiring.

If you didn't receive The Women of Christmas as a gift this Christmas season, add it to your wishlist for 2014. Or better yet, just go buy yourself an after Christmas gift. Remember, you don't have to wait until the Christmas season to celebrate the greatest Story every told. We are supposed to be celebrating His Story every day of the year! Liz shares the stories of Elizabeth and Mary with a fresh, new perspective; but perhaps, for you too, it will be the story of Anna that inspires you to be a better you in 2014! Let yourself be captivated by the Story!